Cheddar Luck Next Time by Beth Cato Review

A cozy cheese-scented mystery with delightful characters, a dash of murder and tons of intrigue, perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and The Maid.
 

Bird Nichols moves to a quiet, quirky Californian town in hopes of a fresh start. With an autism-driven special interest in cheese, all she wants to do is grow her gourmet cheese board business and live out the rest of her life in peace, a plan that is suddenly upended when she stumbles across a body not too far from her new home…
 

As the latest arrival to town and the first on the scene, Bird is thrown into the centre of the investigation, prompting her to begin her own inquiry into what happened. But when Grizz, the closest thing Bird has to real family, becomes the sheriff department’s favourite suspect, the stakes rise even higher.
 

With a town full of suspects, Bird must take off the apron, pick up the magnifying glass and find the true murderer before they strike again.

A mysterious small-town murder mystery balanced by deliciously described gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and delectable cheese platters, Beth Cato’s Cheddar Luck Next Time is a cozy mystery novel that is casual, light-hearted, and very easy to read. Besides its hallmark interest in cheeses of all kinds, the novel also provides great neurodivergent representation (at least from what I limited information I’ve learned from those on the spectrum) as well as trace elements of chick lit/literary fiction. I’ve previously realized that the cozy mystery genre isn’t for me, so this wasn’t necessarily my favorite overall read, but I picked this up hoping for lots of cheese highlights and Cheddar Luck Next Time did not disappoint!

Taking place in the fictional, small rural town of Foghorn, Bird Nichols moves into her grandma’s house that she inherits following her disappearance and death half a year ago. Despite having limited time together when she was growing up, Bird has fond memories of her grandmother who was a part-time instigator, a part-time community vigilante much to the ire of some of Foghorn’s other residents. Bringing her budding cheese plate business with her, the story sees Bird exploring Foghorn and rediscovering her grandma’s lasting impression on the area all while investigating the culprit of a murder she happens to stumble upon. 

While Bird’s murder mystery investigation around Foghorn takes up most of the novel’s content, a good portion of the story also focuses on Bird’s cheese business which was the main highlight of the novel for me. If I’m being completely honest, I picked up this novel out of sheer curiosity partly due to the amusing pun and attention-grabbing title, as well as its promise about gourmet cheese. One of my reading book friends loves cheese so up until this book’s publication date, this novel was a bit of a fun running joke between us that I was inspired to try to read. While I’m not a cheese enthusiast myself, I found Bird’s various descriptions, explanations and methodical work on her cheese platters to be interesting and I definitely learned a thing or two about cheese pairings and less common varieties. Outside of Bird’s cheese platter business, the other Foghorn cheese business Queso-quick also had a lot of great food-porn worthy visuals courtesy of Daniel’s various assortment of grilled cheeses and breakfast bread pudding menu items.

One aspect that I haven’t seen any other reviews for this novel mention is the surprisingly detailed and accurate home-based industry references. Bird runs her cheese platter business similar to a catering operation out of her own personal home and the details mentioned about food safety and regulatory requirements are spot-on and in-line with California’s Homemade Food Operation regulations that were adjusted in 2018. Beth Cato refers to Bird’s cheese platter operation as a cottage food business, which while technically incorrect as cottage food must be non-perishable and therefore her cheese can only be done under the expanded Homemade Food Operation, but she’s still close enough that I’m willing to give her a pass on it. Throughout the story, Bird talks about the temperature requirements of cold-holding cheeses, the time limitations before they can spoil, sanitary food-handling cleanliness and various standard operating procedures. Fun fact, my main day job is an Environmental Health Inspector specifically specializing in food safety and the dairy industry and I was impressed by how much Cato got right when describing Bird’s business.

Another highlight of Cheddar Luck Next Time is its good representation and portrayal of people with autism. From what I know and have heard from those with autism, Bird’s character is honestly presented without being glamorized nor hand-held; it’s simply a part of her that is as it is. Subtle elements like being overly stimulated or certain confusions about mannerisms I thought were handled tastefully. They’re prominent enough where the representation is appreciated but it doesn’t become Bird’s entire character personality nor the story’s entire focus (her being publicly out about it but choosing not to mention it when meeting new people is a subtle yet relatable detail). Her reminiscing on memories of her grandmother as well as the town of Foghorn were also quite sweet.

While I enjoyed the cheese highlights and the food business mentions, unfortunately the mystery premise and subsequent investigation left a lot to be desired for me. The murder crime, subsequent investigation, and reveal of clues all felt quite lackluster and underwhelming. While I understand the novel is intended to be a cozy mystery read which is not going to be the most thrilling or complex narrative, the mystery development felt like it was constantly dragging or repeating itself. Outside of Bird, the cast of characters also felt quite shallow and underdeveloped. I had a mildly tricky time remembering which name matched each character because I found them forgettable or they started blending together (particularly the various detectives and the young men). Additionally, characters would frequently start tearing up or crying out of the blue which would be appropriate for the moment, except for the lack of buildup and development which make the whole conversation feel out of place or awkwardly simplified. Overall, I struggled to stay invested in the story’s plot even with its relatively short length in mind.

Additionally, the mystery investigation would typically involve Bird talking to someone, discovering a new clue, being found in an unfortunately suspicious location or situation by the police, and having disagreements with Detective Merrick. The first couple of times were interesting but the novel kept repeating the same formula and the constant repetitive reminders about how people found Bird’s grandma problematic started to get tiring; I would’ve liked to see more context or details given into why different characters arrived at the same negative impression of her. And while the police’s investigation is intentionally meant to be a bit questionable to reinforce Bird’s distrust of them and the justice system, the policework and crime scene responses were comical unrealistic throughout the story and didn’t really make much logical sense investigating/interrogating half of Foghorn in the process, granted I also read more intense and complex mystery thrillers so part of that may be my own reading preference and expectation for more realistic procedural work. I also found the culprit to be unintentionally silly like a caricature of a villain and the motives behind the mysteries to be disappointingly simple, akin to a kids show mystery reveal. The final plot twists also seemed like a peculiar narrative choice to me that kind of left certain details hanging, almost like a purposeful open-door option for a sequel should Cato decide to pursue it.

Cheddar Luck Next Time was not for me personally, but I can still see that there’s a lot to like. Featuring a straightforward mystery, simple characters, and a very basic timeline of events and character movements, this is a good cozy mystery novel for those that like cozy mystery reads that aren’t overly complex. I do think that the story could’ve been more compelling or character-focused had it been developed further as <270 pages is quite condensed, especially when you consider how many of those pages were focused on Bird’s cheese business on the side rather than the core mystery (the last few pages also inflate the total page count as they’re not part of the story and instead feature a rather tasty-sounding recipe of Bird’s favorite chevre cheese balls). However, if you’re looking for books revolving around the delights of artisan cheeses or a murder mystery that is casual and easy, Cheddar Luck Next Time can be quite delectable!